Wednesday writing wire - rat's ass edition

What I'm reading

I'm coming to the tail end of Katy Bowman's Move Your DNA, which is a great book about human biomechanics and how to reclaim your body's mobility from the "full-body cast" that modern, indoor, chair-bound, sedentary existence has placed upon us. Indoor life has even restricted our eyes, causing us to focus most of the time on objects that are close-up; when was the last time you gazed off into the distance? (I'm now trying to make "eye breaks" a regular part of my day.)

Lest anyone fear that I'm not reading enough science fiction, I'm also about halfway through The Female Man by Joanna Russ. This is one of the books that have been on my TBR pile forever and I really should have read a long time ago; a classic of feminist SF. It's written all non-linear like, from multiple characters' POVs in multiple scenelets and vignettes, and is full of humor, anger, and satire. I can't say I'm quite enjoying it as entertainment--but I am finding great meaning and importance in reading it. 

What I'm writing

I've been continuing to make pretty decent progress on The Free City. I've just gotten to one of the "shit hits the fan" parts of the story--wherein my main character (who lives in a repressive dystopia) realizes that she is abnormal and a criminal--they just haven't caught her yet. What fun!

What else I've been doing

Playing shows with my band, DRILLING FOR BLASTING, which is a two-piece consisting of me (drums & vocals), and my husband (guitar, vocals, harmonica, & bass trickery). Here's a review of a recent show, with photos.

What's inspiring me right now

I got tired of "social media", y'all. I got tired of "liking". I got tired of scrolling through the endlessly scrolling page, and I got tired of feeling like none of the words I read or post were worth the electrons they're 'printed' with ;) So I recently decided to resume an activity I used to enjoy a lot when I was younger: writing letters. On paper. I made a post (on Facebook, ugh. But it was the logical place to do it) thinking I'd be lucky to get one or two takers, and was totally surprised at how many people wanted to exchange letters. I've written and mailed out most of "round 1", and even ordered some preprinted (with return address and postage) envelopes from the good old U.S. Postal Service. Clicks, likes, and electrons are cheap--but when somebody takes the time to write a personal letter, it means they really give a rat's ass!